Lifting sling



A. K. STRONG LIFTING SLING Original Filed Dec. 6, 1956 \lizy INV ENT OR 744/v K67P0/V6,

ammmn United States Patent 3,105,606 LETING SLKNG Alien K. Strong, Larchmont, N.Y., assignor to American Cyanamid Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Maine Griginal application Dec. 6, 1956, Ser. No. 626,646, new Patent No. 2,960,244, dated Nov. 15, 196i). Divided and this application Oct. 17, 1966, Ser. No. 63,165

1 Claim. (Cl. 214-105} The present application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 626,646, filed December 6, 1956', now US. Patent No. 2,960,244, issued November 15, 1960. This invention is directed to improved lifting slings of the type described in my US. Patents No. 2,698,696, issued January 4, 1955, and No. 2,774,490, issued December 18, 1956. The principal object of the improved lifting sling will become apparent as I further discuss my invention as such.

Lifting slings of the type described consist essentially of a flexible web with loops at opposite ends thereof, said loops containing a hollow cardboard liner. The lifting slings is used as an integral part in the creation of a shipping unit, which is comprised of courses of packaged material and a lifting sling which is located under the bottom course of the pile so that when the hollow members referred to hereinabove are engaged with the forks of a lift trucx the load of packaged materials is supported. The improvement in the present invention is concerned with the problem of the proclivity of the cardboard liners, which are placed within the hollow loops of the flexible web, to become displaced when the forks of a lift truck are inserted or withdrawn.

In the moving and storage of the transportation unit a problem arises when the forks of the lift truck are brought into association with the loops of the lifting sling. The liners of the sling will become displaced if the forks of the lift truck are not properly aligned therewith. This is a particular disadvantage in that the transportation units are sometimes stacked one atop the other. The foregoing in addition to the disadvantage of the liner displacement will lend to the creation of a time consuming procedure. Therefore the improvement of which my invention consists creates a transportation unit which would be most efiicient in operation, overcoming the disadvantages set forth hereinabove.

Now I have devised certain positive means in the creation of an improved lifting sling. The improvement is concerned primarily with the formation of a lifting sling in which the cardboard liner is held firmly in position. The cardboard liners are provided with a positioning flap which shall act, as will be described, to firmly hold the cardboard liner in position thereby overcoming the difficulty of longitudinal displacement. I

The principles of my invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, where- FIGURE :1 shows a composite transportation unit comprising packaged materials and a lifting sling embodying the invention, with said sling utilizing a positioning flap fastened to the liner to assist in'holding the liner in place and supporting the load.

FIGURE '2 is a detail perspective of the liner and flap in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 shows an additional embodiment of the invention whereby the liner and positioning flap are one composite integral unit composed of a semi-stiff, bent or pre-formed sheet as a combined position-ing flap and liner.

FIGURE 1 illustrates the basic principles of the invention. Referring to FIGURE 1 which shows the positions esta Fatented Get. 1, 1963 ice 2 ing flap of the invention as being applied to the sling supporting a. group of rectangular solids, a flexible Web 1, is adapted to pass under the bottom of a pile of solids, a pair of loops 2, which are located at the sides of the fleXi hie Web and within the loops liners 3, to which have been fastened a positioning flap 4, which extends inwardly under the adjacent portions of said pile between the bottom surface of same and the flexible web. The liners 3, to which the positioning flaps are fastened are thereby held firmly in position by the weight of the pile upon the positioning flap; therefore the problem of longitudinal displacement of the liners when the lift truck forks are inserted or withdrawn is avoided. As shown in FIGURE 2 the flaps may consist of strips of paper or other flexible material glued or otherwise attached to the liners 3 or the flaps may be integral therewith as shown in FIGURE 3. FIGURE 3 illustrates a liner, which is a sheet of semistiff but flexible material having one side bent into a tube 3, to receive the forks of a lift truck, with the opposite side so formed :as to project inwardly and under .an adjacent portion of the pile of solids between the bottom surface thereof and the flexible web 1, thereby forming As disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No.

626,646 filed December 6, 1956, the flexible web of the lifting sling may be made either of a light and cheap material such as ordinary kraft paper, or preferably of reinforced paper. Much more rugged and durable slings are attained when reinforced paper is used, and the preferred material is a multi-ply paper in which reinforced threads or strips of jute, string, glass fiber or other material of high tensile strength are laid between the layers. It will be understood that liners of other cross sectional shapes may be employed; the particular shape will usually depend on the type of lift truck forks that are used. As shown in the drawings the cylindrical liners are preferred whereas triangular, rectangular or other shapes may be used with lift truck forks of other types.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated by reference to particular embodiments thereof it be understood that in its broadest aspect the invention is not limited to such embodiments, and that variations and substitutions of equivalents may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A lifting sling for moving a pile of rectangular solids comprising in combination a flexible web adapted to pass under the bottom of saidpile, a pair of loops of a size to receive the forks of a lift truck located at the sides of said Web, cardboard liners loosely mounted in each loop and paper positioning flaps having one end secured to each of said cardboard liners and the other end freely mounted in said loop and extending inwardly from said liners and under adjacent portions of said pile between,

the bottom surface thereof and said web, and in association with said liners in such a manner as to prevent longitudinal displacement of said liners.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,698,696 Strong. Jan. 4, 1955 

